Inter Milan are undoubtedly the biggest club in Group K but Southampton are probably the better side nowadays. Sparta Prague did very well in this competition last season and will be keen to emulate that success.
Although the Saints are arguably better than Inter Milan on paper, they have had a poor start to their Premier League campaign and currently find themselves down in 18th – inside the relegation places. Southampton have a habit of finding excellent managers from the continent, as seen with Mauricio Pochettino and Ronald Koeman, before they leave for pastures new which allows Southampton to receive a large compensation package.
However, new boss Claude Puel has not quite lived up to expectations so far this season and because of this we may see the Saints throw away Europa League football in order to get back on track in the priority that is the Premier League.
I would expect the Frenchman to put out a weakened team but, given Southampton Academy’s excellent reputation, they will not be bad players by any means and should still cause trouble for their Czech opponents.
We saw last season how Sparta Prague are able to cause surprises, reaching the quarter final of the Europa League by knocking out Krasnodar and Lazio on the way, and there is no doubt that they love this competition.
After losing out on the Czech title last season, the record championship holders are looking to regain their crown this campaign. Zdeněk Ščasný’s side have got off to a good start and currently sit second and undefeated after six games. They are good both at the back and up front having scored 12 goals and conceded just four. They will certainly fancy their chances against a weakened Saints side at St. Mary’s Stadium on Thursday night.
The bookies are going with Southampton and perhaps for obvious reasons with Puel’s men being the better side on paper. However, there is a seed of doubt in my mind regarding a Saints win due to the ‘weakened team’ question. Sparta showed last season that they are capable of causing an upset and they may just do here.
Having said that, I am not confident enough in the Czech side claiming all three points so backing them to win isn’t the best bet. Southampton have yet to keep a clean sheet this season whilst Sparta are good going forward. A weakened Saints team should give Sparta few opportunities to find the back of the net.
The best bet to go for here is Sparta to score a single goal at 4/5.
See more Europa League tips here.